ASEAN leaders watch India’s national day parade

Camel mounted Indian Border Security Force soldiers march through Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard, during Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. India marks Republic Day on Jan. 26 with military parades across the country. (AP Photo)

India looks to deepen bonds with its eastern neighbors amid its wariness over China’s growing influence in the region.

With competing territorial claims in the Asia-Pacific region, Modi said India favored a “rules-based order for the oceans and seas” and respect for international law. He was speaking at the plenary session of the India-ASEAN summit on Thursday, Jan. 25.

China’s building of artificial islands on disputed features in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety, has alarmed ASEAN. But China’s economic and political clout has also divided the bloc in how to deal with an assertive Beijing.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said there was “significant potential” for expanding trade and economic cooperation between India and ASEAN.

“Southeast Asia and India together represent a quarter of the world’s population, about 1.8 billion people, and a combined GDP of more than 4 and a half trillion US dollars,” he said.

A declaration at the end of the summit on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of promoting maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region. It also underlined the lawful uses of the seas and maritime commerce and called for peaceful resolutions of disputes.

In 2016, French President Francois Hollande was the guest of honor at India’s Republic Day parade. In 2015, former President Barack Obama viewed the display.